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$14M Demon With Bowl statue AWOL at Palms

Updated July 22, 2020 - 9:03 am

It’s not often a naked, 60-foot figure goes AWOL, but that is the case for Damien Hirst’s Demon With Bowl statue at the Palms.

The centerpiece of the hotel’s short-lived Kaos nightclub and dayclub has been yanked from its moors. Evidence of the giant art piece’s departure was an overhead image from KSNV-TV, Channel 3’s “Chopper” Tom Hawley, posted on his Twitter feed Monday morning. The shot showed the open space where Demon once stood.

Hotel officials are confirming only that the statue is, in fact, gone (we got that). Has anyone checked on Bliss Dance? Maybe the two ran off together …

But really, this is a massive development in the arts community. Palms owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III are prominent art collectors, among the top 200 in the country according to the trade publication ArtNEWS.

The brothers and Station Casinos owners own the piece, one of several conceived by Hirst displayed on the Palms property. His work includes the three-segment shark at Unknown bar. The hotel also developed the two-story Hirst Empathy Suite at the hotel, one of the most expensive suites in the world at $100,000 per night with a two-night minimum.

The Demon With Bowl statue, finished in 2014, is worth a reported $14 million. It is not unfathomable that the Fertittas would have plans to lease the piece for exhibit, or perhaps deal it on the open market. But for this famously nude statue, more will be revealed.

That’s entertainment

Resorts World Las Vegas President Scott Sibella says the resort has extensive entertainment concepts beyond its Theatre at Resorts World. Sibella mentioned a 400-500 seat, expanded lounge planned for the hotel’s “entertainment zone.” Sibella agreed that the idea reflects Rhythm & Riffs at Mandalay Bay, Loser’s Bar & Grill at the MGM Grand and Parlour at The Mirage “but a lot bigger.”

Full bands, soloists, DJs and even stand-up comics can perform at this haunt. I’ll add magicians, because #Vegas.

“We are serious about bringing the best entertainment,” Sibella said Monday afternoon in a phone chat. “We will have plans for entertainment throughout the property.” We’ll have more from the resort vet this week.

New vid from red

Anne Martinez of Red Penny Arcade, among many other projects, has released “No Time to Die.” The metal anthem is now up for consumption on YouTube.

Martinez is backed by a crack band: Jeff Tortora on drums, Jason Davis on guitar, David Warner on strings and Tom Nieves on bass. Andrew Beldy produced at Electric Recording Studio. The song rocks, and this could be an actual, full-time creative team.

Royal recollection

We had some fun, a few years ago, at Lagasse Stadium at Palazzo. By “we” I mean Rob Riggle and me.

The former “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central correspondent and actor and featured comic on Fox Sports’ NFL coverage showed up in November 2014 and again in September 2016. He was pushing his Loaded Vodka line. He was actually pushing it, in the form of Jell-O shots, on big metal trays.

Riggle once spent a weekend in Las Vegas on a $30 gambling budget. He wound up playing $3 blackjack at O’Shea’s, surfing through his entire stay. “And I got free drinks,” he said in a 2014 interview.

Riggle wasn’t as lucky in ’16. He made a future bet at the Stadium on the Kansas City Royals to win the 2015 World Series and actually won. But when he returned to collect, the ticket had expired.

“So, it’s like I lost,” Riggle said. “I can’t complain. It says right on the fine print you need to collect in 180 days.” Nonetheless, a Royal bummer.

Try the heel

Rose. Rabbit. Lie. at The Cosmopolitan General Manager Eric Adams has a delicious side gig, especially if you happen to be a canine.

Adams has founded Dog & Whistle dog food brand in Las Vegas. The items are lightly cooked, contain no preservatives, the meats and vegetables are sourced from American farms and the seeds and oils locally. Humans and canines can eat this food. I will find this out soon enough; I can verify that RRL’s human food (especially the truffle mac and cheese) is to die fur. Er, for.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats! podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.

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